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MONSTER SUNSPOT: So you thought Halloween was over? Think again. There is a monster spot on the sun. AR2443 has more than quadrupled in size since it first appeared on Oct. 29th, and it now stretches more than 175,000 km from end to end. Philippe Tosi took this picture of the active region on Nov. 1st from his backyard observatory in Nîmes, France:

The sunspot has more than a dozen dark cores, many of which are as large as terrestrial continents–and a couple as large as Earth itself. These dimensions make it an easy target for backyardsolartelecopes.

Of greater interest is the sunspot’s potential for explosive activity. The spotty complex has a ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-class solar flares. Any such explosions will be geoeffective as the sunspot turns squarely toward Earth in the days ahead.

BIG SUNSPOT, CHANCE OF FLARES: Yesterday, sunspot AR2339 unleashed an intense X2-class solar flare. It might not be finished. The active region has doubled in size since yesterday, and it has a ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field that harbors energy for more eruptions. Amateur astronomer Philippe Tosi sends this picture of the behemoth sunspot from his backyard in Nîmes, France:

As the blue-circular insert shows, several of the sunspot’s dark cores are larger than Earth itself. From end to end, the sunspot group sprawls more than 100,000 km. These dimensions make it an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. If you have one, take a look. You might catch some action. NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of M-class flares and a 10% chance of X-flares on May 7th.

A pulse of UV radiation and X-rays from the flare caused a strong radio blackout over the Pacific side of Earth. This map shows the extent of the blackout, which affected frequencies below 20 MHz. Mariners, aviators, and ham radio operators are the type of people who might have noticed the disturbance.

The explosion also hurled a CME into space: movie. Traveling faster than 1100 km/s (2.5 million mph), the expanding cloud does not appear to be heading for Earth.

In addition to causing a radio blackout, the flare also caused a radio burst. Immediately after the flare, a roar of static bellowed from the loudspeakers of shortwave receivers on Pacific isles and western parts of North America. Amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft of New Mexico recorded the outburst:

“The sound file is in stereo with one channel at 22 MHz and the other at 23 MHz,” says Ashcraft. “It is very intricate if listened to with headphones.”

What caused this burst of “solar static”? The same magnetic explosion that caused the flare also produced beams of electrons. As the electrons sliced through the sun’s atmosphere, they generated a ripple of radio-loud plasma waves. Astronomers classify solar radio bursts into five types; this one was a mixture of Type III and Type V.

CME, POSSIBLY EARTH-DIRECTED: A magnetic filament snaking around the sun’s southern hemisphere erupted on May 3rd. The blast did not create a pulse of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., a solar flare), but it did hurl a CME into space. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the expanding cloud:

Although the CME is not moving directly along the sun-Earth line, it might still be geoeffective. A glancing blow is possible on May 5th or 6th. NOAA analysts are evaluating this possibility as they receive additional coronagraph data. Stay tuned for updates in the hours ahead.

OLAR FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT: Sunspot AR2257 erupted on Jan. 13th, producing an M5-class solar flare at 04:24 UT. A pulse of extreme UV radiation from the flare ionized Earth’s upper atmosphere over Australia and the Indian Ocean. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed a brief communications blackout at frequencies below about 10 MHz. This map from NOAA shows the affected region:

We do not yet know if the flare also produced a coronal mass ejection (CME). If so, the plasma cloud will probably miss Earth because of the sunspot’s off-center location on the solar disk.

More flares could be in the offing. AR2257 has an unstable ‘beta-gamma-delta’ magnetic field that seems poised to explode again. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of M-class flares and a 10% chance of X-flares on Jan. 13th.

HOLE IN THE SUN’S ATMOSPHERE: A vast hole has opened in the atmosphere over the sun’s south pole, and it is spewing solar wind into space. The gaseous gap, a.k.a. a ‘coronal hole,’ is colored dark-purple in this extreme ultraviolet image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory:

Curved lines trace the sun’s magnetic field in this EUV image from SDO

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this particular hole is expected to reach Earth’s orbit on Jan. 4-5. The bulk of the stream will flow south of our planet. However, not all of it will miss. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of polar geomagnetic storms when the solar wind arrives in the next 48 hours.

CME TARGETS EARTH, AFTER ALL: On Nov. 7th, when an X-flare from AR2205 hurled a CME into space, at first it appeared that the cloud would miss Earth. Follow-up computer modeling by NOAA analysts suggests that the CME might deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field after all. A complete forecast follows this movie of the eruption recorded by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory:

The CME left the sun traveling approximately 600 km/s (1.3 million mph) albeit not directly along the sun-Earth line. If the computer models are correct, the outskirts of the cloud should reach Earth mid-day on Nov. 10th (Universal Time). First contact could spark a G2-class geomagnetic storm on Nov. 10th subsiding to G1-class on Nov. 11th. NOAA forecasters are citing storm probabilities as high as 75%.

These storms in the forecast are mild, not extreme, so there is no danger of power outages or communications blackouts. However, the CME impact could spark some beautiful auroras around the Arctic Circle. The lights might even spill across the Canadian border into northern-tier US states such as Maine, Michigan, Minnesota and the Dakotas.

HYDER FLARE MISSES EARTH: Earth-orbiting satellites detected a solar flare on Nov. 1st. Usually solar flares come from sunspots, but there were no sunspots anywhere near this blast. A movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory shows what happened:

The C3-category flare was caused by a filament of magnetism, which rose up and erupted between 0400 and 0600 UT. Some of the material in the filament fell back to the sun, causing a flash of X-rays where it hit the stellar surface. That was the flare. The rest of the filament flew out into space, forming the core of a massive CME. A movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shows the CME billowing away from the sun. NOAA analysts say it will not hit Earth.

Flares like this, which happen without sunspots, are called Hyder Flares. They help keep solar activity high even when sunspot counts are low.

This sunspot could cause a sharp increase in solar activity over the weekend. Earlier this week, while it was still hidden behind the southeastern limb, the active region unleashed several M-class solar flares and hurled a massive CME into space. Considering the fact that the blast site was partially eclipsed by the edge of the sun, those flares were probably much stronger than their nominal classification. Now that the sunspot has revealed itself, X-flares may be in the offing.

How Solar Flares Directly Affect Human Consciousness

Everything within this dense configuration of Reality that we call the Universe is interconnected. Through this interconnectedness, everything affects everything else. From the dawn of human spiritual experiences to present-day scientific discoveries, the reality of oneness and interconnectedness has continued to permeate as a recurring aspect of existence within the vastness of what we refer to as Reality. We are realizing, with a continuously-growing conviction, that change and transformation, whether it be in society, consciousness, or otherwise is directly affected by other elements of our universe; elements that we sometimes fail to realize have the ability to affect us in such transformational ways.

These connections, which many times are unable to be seen through the limited field of human awareness act as two-way portals and tunnels through which energy particles and fields travel through. This may seem like something out of a sci-fi story but has time and time again been proven to be a very genuine part of our reality. It was only in 2008 that it was publicly stated that there are magnetic portals that connect the sun’s magnetic field with the earth’s. A year earlier scientists uncovered an elaborate and vast web of cosmic filaments hundreds of millions of light years long that connect galaxies to each others. Not only are the sun and the earth linked with each other but so are galaxies light years upon light years away.

Distance is no obstacle for the interconnectedness of our universe.

Getting back to the sun and the earth, we come to a very significant and important realization…that solar flares have a direct effect on everything that exists on our blue marble…even human consciousness. Solar flares were found to directly affect the mental and physical state of humans in 2008 and three years later, we are seeing just how true that finding truly is. The sun has such incredible power that it is able to send solar flares shooting into the Earth’s atmosphere and affecting its electromagnetic energy field, as well as affecting each person’s electromagnetic energy field.

When looking at profound shifts in society and consciousness, we can find the pineal gland to be of particular importance. Yes, this tiny part of our brain that has been professed as being a DMT production laboratory acting as our gateway into more subtle planes and dimensions of Reality also regulates circadian rhythm and melatonin production… it is incredibly sensitive to magnetic fields.

The case for solar flares directly affecting human consciousness is of the utmost important right now, since we can see all around us and within our own lives the intense changes and transformations occurring. These changes are exasperated by the electromagnetic forces at play around us. The Russian scientist Tchijevsky put together the histories of 72 countries beginning at 500 BCE and culminating in 1922 within the present era. He constructed an Index of Mass Human Excitability, in which he found that 80% of the most significant human events occurred during a 5 year period surrounding the peak of solar activity. What this discovery shows us is that when solar-geomagnetic activity is changing the fastest, it has the greatest potential to affect our moods, behavior patterns, creativity and trends. We are in for quite an interesting next few years.

There is a positive side to the increase in sun activity. Periods of increased solar activity don’t just correlate with societal unrest, but also give rise to innovation and enhanced imagination in architecture, arts and science. The old social structures which are not helping humanity become more consciously evolved might be replaced with more suitable and sustainable models. Above all else, this is a time of opportunity and possibility and the chance to use these rushes of energy to create humanitarian advances and a sustainable living environment.

Something that each and every one of us can do is to increase the emotional balance and coherence within ourselves.Harmony is essential in times of chaos. This will enable us as individuals to use these influxes of energy to our advantage. When we raise our internal coherence, we can positively affect our personal relationships and our social environment, which will also be positively reflected in the collective consciousness of humanity.

We are all affected slightly differently by these cosmic forces, such as solar flares, which is why one person may be affected negativity whereas another in a more positive way. Those individuals who have compressed anger, fear, and jealousy will see their energy fields weaken. Our thoughts help shape and create our reality so it should be of little surprise that the toxic emotions and feelings that we may choose to marinate within our minds may result in the weakening of our energy fields, leading us to become more vulnerable to the negative effects of these electromagnetic solar energy influxes. In order for us to not get into such a downward spiral, we need to identify the negative emotions before we are able to resolve them. If our electro-magnetic energy field is weakened, we become more likely to be significantly affected by the increasing solar activity.

The increase in solar activity activates compressed jealousy, anger, and fear in our minds, no matter if we are conscious or unconscious of this process. If people have not been working on healing these issues, the issues become stronger and magnified when there is a period of increased solar activity as there is now. We are living in a difficult period of our timeline, yet we should not allow ourselves to become sad about the state of everything because we can use this period to our advantage. Let’s use this period of increased solar energy to create great opportunities for positive social transformation… the world desperately needs it.